The Abstract of Sio

"Departure"

"The Great Divide"

"The Pain Within"

Taken from the Art Exhibits of Sio Montera. I'm not actually the artsy type, nevertheless I was struck by the vividness of "The Pain Within", as I stood in front of it. It is quite imposing too because it is somewhat large measuring 139 cm x 183 cm. It is more of the type that is hung in foyers or lobbies of buildings. (If you are the type who goes for the abstract, you can check Sio's works at: http://www.siomontera.com/ ). I guess the Cebu artists are emerging to be world class players.

Onli N Da Pilipins (The Trip continues...)

While marvelling at an altar of an old church in Argao which looked uncannily similar to the altar of Basilica Del Santo Nino De Cebu, we chanced upon a wedding...

In the mean time, the rest of the guests were waiting outside the church in a truck. After the church rites, they shall be heading off to the most awaited activity, the much-anticipated wedding reception.

In fact we witnessed the bride climbing up at the back of the truck in her wedding gown, but unfortunately we were not fast enough to record it.

The Driver's Seat

Summer isn't over yet. So let's take a break and get out of the city for a while...

Going to Argao...


Going to Boljoon...

For those living abroad, don't you feel like coming home and bask in the hot summer sun?

What! It's Been a Year Already?

A year ago I wrote: "Hey, I am new here! In fact I am groping blindly (as in literally) around the site. I am not sure what I am going to write on my blog and how to go about it. But it does not matter anyhow because I am excited, and learning can be a lot of fun. This lady here is trying to enter into the blog scene!" Didn't notice it's already been a year since then. I guess my blog is still a work in progress...

Perpetual Succour and the GSIS Hospitalization Program

On the third day after our mother suffered a stroke, upon the approval of her doctor we moved her to Perpetual Succour Hospital because (my mother who is a retired school teacher) we wanted to avail of the GSIS Hospitalization Program initiated by Atty. Winston Garcia. Thus we were able to avail of considerable discounts in Room Rates, CT Scan and 2D Echo procedures, a little of laboratory exams, but most important of all, we were able to enjoy I think a whooping 30% discount in medicines bought from the hospital pharmacy. (Why don’t hospitals put an extra ER in their pharmacies so buyers who felt like gasping for breath or experiencing fainting spells upon seeing the medicine bills can easily be assisted?) Anyway, I just want to acknowledge that the GSIS program is a big help but I wish it should be the government’s thrust to launch similar programs nationwide and not just on selected sites.

That Monday, and North Gen Hospital

On March 26, I woke and heard Nanay (my Mother) calling me from her room asking me to help her stand up. Warning bells immediately rang! We were used to her rising up ahead of us in the mornings, having her breakfast alone, before moving on to tend to her little garden. Suddenly she was asking for my help? When I tried to move her up and she slid down back to her bed, my niggling fear was confirmed. STROKE! Our cousin was kind enough to bring us to the Emergency Room of the Cebu North Gen Hospital. And thus our journey begun...

I now look back to that day and pondered on the impact of a mere single event, that totally and probably irrevocably changed long-time practices or patterns in our daily lives. Sometimes a family member's sickness, and perhaps death, can take some time to sink in and be finally accepted. And that's what happened to us too. My sister and I went on for a week with little or no sleep at all. And to top it all, we have to contend with the daily battle of astronomical medicine expenses. All these aggravated our already taut nerves, and I thought that perhaps we were already near our breaking points. But the heavens gave a little mercy, and gave us little strength everyday to cope with all the worries. Perhaps our only regret was that we were not able to thank the staff of North Gen Hospital properly, because we left in a hurry to move to Perpetual Succour Hospital. We felt that they truly cared for us during those times...